Too early to talk about recall motion against president: DPP

2012/09/23 18:10:56

Taipei, Sept. 23 (CNA) Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming said Sunday that it is too soon to discuss a proposal by the opposition Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) to launch a recall motion against President Ma Ying-jeou next year.

Any motion to depose President Ma would require the involvement of the DPP since its ally the TSU holds only three seats in the Legislature, Ker said.

It is too soon to say whether the opposition parties would organize a protest against the government or seek to bring a recall motion against Ma, he said.

The DPP caucus will discuss the matter Thursday, one day ahead of Premier Sean Chen's administrative report to the Legislature, he added.

After a no-confidence motion against Premier Chen failed in the 113-seat Legislative Yuan on Saturday, TSU caucus convener Huang Wen-ling said her party plans to launch a recall motion against Ma next May, on the first anniversary of the president's second term in office.

A recall motion cannot be brought against a president or vice president who has been in office for less than a year, according to the Presidential and Vice Presidential Election and Recall Act.

Under the act, a proposal to recall the president or vice president can only be carried in the Legislature if it is proposed by at least one-quarter of the lawmakers and supported by not less than two-thirds.

The recall motion must then be put to a public referendum and can only be adopted if at least half of the electorate votes in the poll and the proposal gains more than half of the valid ballots.

The ruling Kuomintang (KMT) holds 64 of the Legislative Yuan's 113 seats, with the main opposition DPP having 40, and minor opposition TSU and People First Party controlling three seats each and three seats being held by independents or non-party affiliated lawmakers who form Non-Partisan Solidarity Union.